Recaps

Neji secured secret access to Konoha’s Sealing Jutsu archives and medical materials to research a way to help Rock Lee, with a year and a half to complete the work. After the Third Hokage assigned Team 3 an S-rank mission, Neji and Tenten left Rock Lee in Might Guy’s care, and Tenten blushed after Neji comforted her.

• Neji told the Third Hokage his research would take at least a year and a half, and the Hokage granted him limited, secret access to Konoha’s Sealing Jutsu archives and Tsunade’s medical materials.
• Neji said he would use Rock Lee in the experiments, and the Third Hokage assigned Team 3 a secret S-rank mission lasting a year and a half.
• Neji asked Might Guy to teach him the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and Might Guy agreed to meet him at the hospital in two days.
• Might Guy and Neji visited Rock Lee, who remained unconscious after releasing the Space Gate, and Might Guy told Tenten and Neji the mission would be suspended while Lee recovered.
• Tenten hugged Neji excitedly when she learned of the S-rank mission, then left the hospital with him after Might Guy agreed to look after Rock Lee.
• Tenten asked Neji about his plans, and he touched her face to comfort her before leaving; Tenten blushed as she watched him go.

Neji studied Sealing Jutsu and planned to use tattoos on Uchiha Izumi’s acupoints to improve her agility and recovery. He asked Izumi to cultivate the Eight Gates first, leaving her to choose a tattoo design once she succeeded.

• Neji used Shadow Clones to study Sealing Jutsu, then dispelled them and reviewed his plans for combining sealing and medical techniques.
• Neji watched Uchiha Izumi finish training and praised her improved strength.
• Izumi declined Neji’s offer to spar, recalling how badly their fights left her hurt.
• Neji told Izumi to cultivate the Eight Gates and explained that tattoos would cover acupoints across her body.
• Izumi asked to choose her tattoo design after mastering the Eight Gates, and Neji agreed.

Neji completed the Healing Tattoo, a Sealing Jutsu that could improve Chakra control, heal injuries, and preserve youth. He applied it to Izumi, whose new lavender tattoo remained visible near her collarbone.

• Neji finalized the tattoo’s healing and youth-preserving functions and named it the Healing Tattoo.
• Neji found Izumi training and prepared to apply the tattoo after she bathed and changed.
• Izumi chose a purple lavender design, and Neji inscribed the Sealing Jutsu across her upper body.
• The completed tattoo healed Izumi’s Eight Gates muscle damage, then faded until only its core lavender cluster remained on her chest and shoulder.

Neji helped Izumi activate the Healing Tattoo and test it with the Eight Gates' First Gate, then sparred with her in the Training Room. Izumi caught Neji distracted and claimed the first round.

• Neji told Izumi to try using the Healing Tattoo herself, then went to bathe while she tested its healing effects.
• After checking Izumi's condition, Neji encouraged her to open the First Gate and activate the Healing Tattoo.
• Izumi tested her strength on a target and broke it apart with a high kick.
• Neji and Izumi opened the First Gate and fought across the Training Room, where Izumi's Tempest Kick scarred the floor of Island Cloud.
• Neji became distracted while considering the Six Powers, and Izumi slipped up beside him and declared that she had taken the first round.

Neji and Izumi continued their spar, with Neji testing several new Nen techniques against her. He defeated Izumi with a charged Nen Cannon and began healing her afterward.

• Neji used Backstep to evade Izumi, who activated her Three Tomoe Sharingan and pursued him with greater speed.
• Neji blocked Izumi's attacks with a Nen Barrier, which she shattered using her Six Powers techniques.
• Neji tricked Izumi with a Phantom Explosion clone, then attacked with Thunder Stomp.
• Neji summoned three Nen orbs that kept Izumi at bay and fired a Charged Nen Cannon that defeated her.
• Neji used the Green Healing Technique on Izumi and told her he had limited the cannon's power enough to defeat her.

Neji treated Izumi and continued his Byakugan cultivation before returning to Team 3 after Rock Lee recovered. Might Guy assigned the team a rice-planting mission, and Neji explained how their routine jobs built useful experience.

• Neji checked Izumi's recovery data, healed her injuries, and left her at the underground cultivation area.
• Neji continued cultivating Byakugan and then returned home, while Izumi watched him leave without asking him to stay.
• Half a month later, Team 3 celebrated Rock Lee's discharge, and Might Guy promised to resume his training after he fully recovered.
• Might Guy assigned Team 3 to help farmers plant rice seedlings, and Neji persuaded Tenten and Rock Lee that routine missions built their experience.

Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee received their first escort mission outside the Land of Fire after Neji demonstrated his strength to reassure their client, Nakata. As Team 3 set out for the Land of Fields, Neji suspected the mission was a test and considered whether he might encounter Orochimaru there.

• Six months later, Neji had reached level thirty-seven and gained the skills Lion's Roar and Thunderclap Spiral Strike.
• Might Guy arrived at Training Ground 7 with Nakata, who objected to Neji joining the team because he was blind.
• Neji demonstrated his power by cutting a distant target with a wind blade, and Nakata approved the team for his escort mission.
• Team 3 prepared to escort Nakata's cargo to the Land of Fields, where Neji suspected bandits might provide them with combat experience.
• As they left Konoha, Neji considered searching for Orochimaru and Hashirama's Cells, while keeping his suspicions about the mission to himself.

Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, and Might Guy escorted Nakata’s convoy toward the border and discovered bandits waiting in a valley. Neji organized the counterattack, and the chapter ended with him finishing off the bandits on his side while checking on Rock Lee’s fight.

• Tenten told Neji she wanted to face battle so she could discover her weaknesses, and Neji urged her to stay alert and give every enemy her all.
• Neji sensed an ambush in the valley, and Nakata admitted the attackers were bandits before promising to increase the reward if needed.
• Neji divided the battlefield among Tenten, Rock Lee, and himself, while Might Guy stayed with the convoy.
• The bandits grew suspicious when Nakata’s convoy stopped outside the valley, but Neji appeared behind them and killed them with a kunai and thrown blades.
• A shout of “Ninja!” came from Rock Lee’s side before Neji lowered his kunai and extended his Observation Haki toward the fight.

Neji and his team defeated bandits ambushing Mr. Nakata’s convoy and resumed their journey. At camp, Neji overheard Mr. Nakata discussing a shipment meant to secure ninja support, and he considered using it as a way to make contact with Orochimaru.

• Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten defeated the bandits, while Neji retrieved the leader’s body and brought it to Mr. Nakata.
• Mr. Nakata praised the team and offered double payment, but Neji refused the extra money.
• The convoy continued through the valley and camped for the night, where Neji treated Tenten’s scratches and changed Rock Lee’s bandage.
• Neji overheard Mr. Nakata say the shipment could bring them ninja support and help them establish themselves in the Land of Fields.
• Neji used his Byakugan to inspect the cargo, recognized it as research materials, and wondered whether Orochimaru might be the buyer.

Neji planted a sealed device in the shipment to draw Orochimaru’s attention, and Orochimaru discovered that Neji might be behind it. The device revealed an invitation to learn the meaning of life, leaving Orochimaru and Kabuto to decide whether to activate it.

• Neji remotely watched the Sound Five collect the shipment, then triggered the device he had hidden inside it.
• Kabuto found a sealed object beneath the goods and sent the Sound Five to investigate who had supplied them.
• Orochimaru learned that the shipment had been escorted by Might Guy’s genin team and considered Neji a possible source of the device.
• Kabuto opened the seal and found a Mechanical Eye, a sheet of paper, and a Sound Shell, while Neji sensed the device had been triggered.
• Kabuto read the note inviting them to press the Sound Shell to learn the meaning of life or activate the Mechanical Eye for an exchange.

Orochimaru and Kabuto listened to a Sound Shell containing information about bloodline research before it shattered, leaving them with two mysterious syringes and a one-eyed eye. Orochimaru suspected Kaguya Kimimaro might be connected to the delivery and took Kimimaro to his laboratory, while Neji waited in Konoha for the third item to activate.

• Kabuto pressed the Sound Shell at Orochimaru’s instruction, and its recording taught Orochimaru about bloodline research before the shell shattered.
• Kabuto read the syringe labels: Female Hormone could turn a man into a woman, while Healing Hormone offered a small chance to cure incurable disease at the cost of ten years of lifespan.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto suspected Kaguya Kimimaro might be connected to the items, and Orochimaru decided to study the hormones and use Kimimaro as a test subject.
• Orochimaru considered who had sent the items and wondered whether the sender was connected to Konoha or another great nation.
• Kabuto brought Kimimaro to Orochimaru, and the three went deeper into the laboratory.
• In Konoha, Neji sensed the Sound Shells shatter and decided to wait for the third item before celebrating with Tenten and the others.

Neji tattooed a sealing design onto Rock Lee, allowing him to control a small amount of Chakra and successfully perform the Clone Technique. The Third Hokage approved Neji’s research and decided to restrict access to its files, while Neji hinted that tattoos might eventually help preserve youth.

• Neji tattooed a four-clawed dragon across Rock Lee’s upper body while the Third Hokage and Team 3 watched.
• Rock Lee sensed a small amount of controllable Chakra and produced a prone clone with the Clone Technique.
• Neji congratulated Rock Lee, and Tenten joked that she wanted a tattoo too.
• Neji said his research might eventually make Eternal Youth possible, prompting Tenten to ask for a tattoo if it worked.
• The Third Hokage decided to limit access to Neji’s research files and grant him access to most materials and some of Tsunade’s notes.
• The Third Hokage left the group celebrating, while Neji privately noted that he had achieved his goal.

Neji’s research let Rock Lee use the Three Body Technique, though trying it in the Eight Gates state caused a temporary chakra backlash. In Otogakure, Orochimaru injected Kimimaro with Healing Hormone despite the tiny chance of a cure and severe pain, leaving the procedure underway.

• Rock Lee successfully used the Transformation Technique, and Might Guy encouraged him to train the Three Body Technique.
• Rock Lee failed to use the Clone Technique in the Eight Gates state, and Neji explained that the chakra backlash would pass with rest.
• Might Guy told Neji that the Third Hokage would grant him higher access and Tsunade’s research materials.
• Orochimaru ordered Kabuto to inject Kimimaro with Healing Hormone and warned him that the treatment had a one to two percent chance of success and would cost ten years of his lifespan.
• Kabuto chained Kimimaro inside a cage and injected him, causing intense pain.

Kimimaro survived Orochimaru’s experiment with Healing Hormone, recovering from his Bloodline Disease and becoming stronger. Orochimaru then ordered Kabuto to inject him with Female Hormone, and the transformation began instantly.

• Kimimaro emerged from the secret cell ravenously hungry after enduring the Healing Hormone treatment, and Kabuto brought him food and supplements.
• Orochimaru observed Kimimaro’s rapid recovery and enhanced digestion while Kabuto recorded his condition and data.
• Kimimaro reported that using his bloodline no longer burdened him and that his body and bones felt stronger.
• After further testing confirmed that Kimimaro’s bloodline power had increased, Orochimaru asked whether he would resist being turned into a woman.
• Kimimaro accepted Orochimaru’s decision, and Kabuto injected him with Female Hormone, triggering an immediate change.

Kimimaro transformed into a woman after taking the hormones, and Orochimaru ordered more research before considering contact with the supplier. In Konoha, Neji spent his day off taking Hinata and Hanabi around the village, with Hanabi leading their outing.

• Kimimaro discovered that the hormones had changed his body and voice, and he studied his new appearance in a mirror.
• Orochimaru became interested in the hormones and told Kabuto and Kimimaro to continue examining the items before he contacted their supplier.
• Neji met Hinata and Hanabi at the Hyuga Estate, where Hanabi teased her flustered sister and asked Neji to take them shopping.
• Neji agreed to spend the day with his little sisters, carrying Hanabi and holding Hinata's hand as they explored Konoha.
• Hanabi led Neji and Hinata around the village to eat, shop for ninja tools, and enjoy its new attractions.

After returning to the Hyuga Estate, Neji reassured Hinata and left for his laboratory while Hiashi reflected on the clan’s weakness and placed his hopes in the younger generation. Neji remained unaware of Hiashi’s plans and turned his attention to training and finding Izumi.

• Neji warned Hanabi not to tease Hinata and told Hinata she did not have to bear her burdens alone.
• Neji left for his laboratory, and Hinata and Hanabi went home to train.
• Hiashi considered how the Caged Bird Seal had weakened the Hyuga Clan and hoped Neji could improve it through his study of Sealing Jutsu.
• Hiashi kept Neji’s Byakugan secret for the time being and looked forward to Neji and Hinata becoming strong enough to protect the clan.
• Neji wondered why Orochimaru had not contacted him, then decided to find Izumi and gain experience by practicing other skills.

Neji studied Sealing Jutsu and Konoha’s barrier while preparing for events surrounding Naruto’s graduation and the Land of Waves mission. He paused missions to focus on his research, and Tenten asked him to give her an Eternal Youth tattoo once it was ready.

• Neji continued studying Sealing Jutsu, mastered ways through Konoha’s barrier, and considered how the Land of Waves and its inhabitants could benefit him.
• Naruto graduated, and about a month later his team received an escort mission.
• At Training Ground 7, Neji asked Might Guy to suspend missions while he worked on his research, and Might Guy and Rock Lee enthusiastically supported him.
• Neji told Tenten that his Eternal Youth research was nearly finished and asked her to inform everyone that he would be absent.
• Tenten asked Neji to tattoo her with the Eternal Youth treatment when it was ready, and Neji agreed.

Neji took Izumi out of Konoha and brought her to the Land of Waves to observe Team 7’s battle against Zabuza and Haku. As Naruto unleashed the Nine-Tails’ power, Neji prepared to enter the mist-shrouded fight.

• Neji told Izumi she could leave their hideout with him, and reassured her that he would not abandon her.
• Neji and Izumi disguised themselves in Root uniforms, left Konoha after dark, then changed into ordinary ninja attire outside the village.
• Neji and Izumi reached the Land of Waves and watched Team 7 recover at their client’s home before Zabuza and Haku attacked again.
• Neji identified Zabuza and Haku as their targets and explained their abilities to Izumi while they monitored the fight.
• After Sasuke was pierced by senbon, Naruto believed he had died and unleashed the Nine-Tails’ Tailed Beast Cloak.
• Neji judged the battle was nearing its end, formed the seals for the Mist Technique, and shrouded the area in mist as Kakashi ran low on strength.

Neji and Izumi secretly took Haku and Zabuza’s bodies from the bridge and used advanced medical techniques to keep them alive. With both recovering in nutrient tanks, Neji planned to give them time to awaken and find a base on a small island in the Land of Waves.

• Kakashi told Sakura and the others that the vanished Mist pursuit unit had likely left them safe for now.
• Neji and Izumi carried Haku and Zabuza to a hidden cave, where Neji explained that he could save them if they had been dead for less than half an hour.
• Neji treated Haku and placed her in a nutrient tank, while Izumi removed the weapons from Zabuza’s body.
• Zabuza briefly regained consciousness, mistook Neji and Izumi for Mist pursuers, and Neji knocked him out before treating his wounds and placing him in a tank.
• Neji told Izumi that the two would need several days to recover and decided to survey the nearby island for a base.

Neji used the Byakugan to find a site for a hidden base, then completed its construction with Izumi and revived Zabuza and Haku. After transforming both into women, he announced that the operation had succeeded, and they awakened to discover what had happened.

• Neji used the Byakugan to survey the Land of Waves and chose a mountain location for a base.
• Neji and Izumi left the temporary base and used the Mud Transformation Technique to build the new base over three days.
• Neji injected Haku and Zabuza with Female Hormone, transforming both into women before dressing them in hospital gowns.
• Izumi entered and questioned Neji after seeing the transformed patients, and he said they would wake soon.
• Zabuza and Haku awakened, recalled their deaths, and realized they had become women.
• Neji congratulated them on the successful operation, and they activated the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Neji explained that he had resurrected Zabuza and Haku as women and recruited them into his organization. Zabuza accepted the offer, and Neji gave them the codenames Zan and Haku before leaving them to recover.

• Zabuza attacked Neji, who fractured Zabuza’s newly healed arm and warned him against acting without information.
• Neji explained that he had saved Zabuza and Haku and transformed them into women, while Izumi showed them their reflections in a mirror.
• Neji identified himself as Nian and said he wanted to recruit them because his organization was short-handed and its goal was to live.
• Zabuza accepted that he and Haku had little choice but to join, and told Haku she was no longer his tool.
• Neji named them Zan and Haku, gave them masks bearing their codenames, and left them to recover.

Zabuza and Haku recovered at Neji’s base, where Neji entrusted them with its management and offered a contribution-point system for missions and rewards. As Neji prepared to leave, he showed Zabuza a way to become a man again and gave them upgraded masks that doubled as communication tools.

• After Neji and Izumi left, Zabuza reflected on being resurrected and transformed into a woman while Haku wondered whether she was still merely a tool.
• Neji and Izumi finished arranging the base, and Neji planned to take control of Gato’s trade while leaving the base to Zabuza and Haku once they recovered.
• A week later, Neji told Zabuza and Haku that he and Izumi would soon leave and that the base would be under their authority in exchange for completing missions and providing resources.
• Neji showed Zabuza a Male Hormone that could turn him back into a man and explained that it could be obtained with contribution points.
• Neji presented Zabuza and Haku with an exchange list and transformed their masks into necklaces that could be restored with Chakra and used for communication and protection from spying.

Neji assigned Zabuza and Haku to eliminate Gato, take over his merchant association, and open trade in the Land of Waves. Zabuza challenged Neji to test his strength, and their fight began with Neji countering Zabuza and Haku’s attacks before Zabuza unleashed a Great Waterfall Technique.

• Zabuza tested the chakra-powered mask and learned that it provided enhanced vision and communication.
• Neji gave Zabuza and Haku the mission to eliminate Gato, take over his merchant association and trade routes, and open trade in the Land of Waves for one hundred contribution points.
• Zabuza challenged Neji to prove his strength, while Haku adjusted Zabuza’s loose bandages.
• Zabuza threw the Kubikiribōchō at Neji and Haku attacked with senbon, but Neji caught the sword and used Observation Haki to locate Zabuza in the mist.
• Haku raised an ice wall to protect Zabuza from the sword, and Zabuza recovered it before unleashing the Great Waterfall Technique at Neji.

Neji overwhelmed Zabuza and Haku with powerful techniques, including Tempest Kick, Lion’s Roar, and Thunderclap Spiral Strike. He left both opponents engulfed in lightning and reached level forty from the experience they yielded.

• Neji split Zabuza’s Great Waterfall Technique with Tempest Kick, shattering the Kubikiribōchō and leaving Zabuza injured.
• Haku arrived to protect Zabuza and trapped Neji inside Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals, but his Nen Barrier blocked her senbon.
• Neji’s Lion’s Roar shattered Haku’s ice mirrors and injured her, forcing her to retreat to Zabuza.
• Zabuza attacked with Water Dragon Bullet Technique while Neji charged Thunderclap Spiral Strike and vanished from sight.
• Neji appeared between Zabuza and Haku and released lightning that engulfed them both without striking them directly.
• Neji gained enough experience from Zabuza and Haku to reach level forty.

Neji and Izumi returned to Konoha after spending two weeks away, and Neji collapsed when his Shadow Clone’s accumulated memories and fatigue hit him. After Izumi cared for him through the night, he recovered and prepared to study medical materials as the Chunin Exams approached.

• Neji turned the flooded Training Room into a Water Training Room, healed Zabuza and the other man, and ordered them to recover before beginning six months of missions.
• Neji and Izumi slipped back into Konoha through a hidden passage, evading Root members and patrolling Anbu.
• Neji dispelled his Shadow Clone and collapsed from the strain of receiving two weeks of memories and fatigue at once.
• Izumi stayed with Neji for three hours, massaged his head, and continued caring for him until he fell asleep.
• Neji woke refreshed the next day, ate the breakfast Izumi had made, and prepared to go out to study medical materials.